Don't Hug Me I'm Scared
Don't Hug Me I'm Scared is a short viral video that's about a sketchbook coming to life in order to teach three more puppets a lesson in being creative. This video also spawned a sequel, and is generally well-known on the Internet. However, what is the true meaning of this video? ''Don't Hug Me I'm Scared'' The most common belief regarding this short video is the idea that the film's a metaphor for the media conditioning children into thinking a certain way. This belief is expressed through the character of the Sketchbook. Throughout the video, the Sketchbook would teach the three puppets what she thought being creative was and would always be quick to chastise them whenever they went against her teachings. The most damning piece of evidence that supports this theory is the fact that when the Sketchbook was asking the puppets what they saw in the clouds, they replied that they couldn't see anything at first, and that when the Notepad placed a monocle over its left eye, the puppets could suddenly see what she wanted them to see. The Yellow Puppet expressed the most interest in getting creative, but every time he tried, the Sketchbook would always hold his creativity down, because she only wanted him to follow what she thought being creative was and to not realize his true potential. This is shown right clearly when she intentionally ruined his clown painting by smearing black ink all over it, and later decreeing that green wasn't a creative color when he wanted to use it since it was his favorite color. The Yellow Puppet and the Bird Puppet later grow up on the TV show's influence, and this causes them to act psychotic and it also influences their creativity greatly. The organ-filled cake that the puppets were seen eating symbolizes the media gulping up its young audience's creativity and ideas, and it overall teaches the children to not be an original and to not be creative, because it would go against the natural order of things. This belief is best expressed at the end of the first video in which the Sketchbook concludes the song by stating that she and the other puppets should never be creative again, and then falling over, presumably dead. Don't Hug me I'm Scared Don't Hug me i'm scared What it means (Video breakdown) ''Don't Hug Me I'm Scared II: TIME'' The second video discusses merchandising. In the beginning of the video, the main characters are all just sitting around, wasting time (or mucking around) waiting for their show. Tony the Clock disapproves of this, because he wants them to buy things and contribute to consumer culture. To brainwash them into doing so, he launches into a song/journey through time. At first, Red Guy (Harry) is resistant because he wants to watch his show. So Tony shows him how things die over time (like the trees and the apple). Tony shows them life is short, and that they should buy tons of gizmos to make the most out of their limited existence. A first tony's plan works. The gang is caught up in time and consuming (represented by the fish scene). However, it is crucial to Tony's plan that the gang (and humanity) only focuses on the superficial concept of time, so that they are kept busy and consuming. Throughout the video, he commands the cast to turn all their attention back to time. Examples include the merry-go-round line and when Tony yells "Look at the time!" after Yellow Guy's (Manny's) Dad Roy is on the computer . So when after the fish scene the gang begins questioning the nature of time (and consequentially are mucking around again), Tony's plan has completely backfired, and he is forced to screech at them to drown out their ideas. He then harshly reprimands them giving them another, far more gruesome "lesson" in the preciousness of life and time. Don't Hug Me I'm Scared 2 - TIME Don't Hug Me I'm Scared 2 - TIME What it means (Video Breakdown) Don't Hug Me I'm Scared 3 Don't Hug Me I'm Scared 3 is said to be about the debate between marriage and polygamy. In the video, the lunch represents sex, demonstrated by the fact that the two do not join the land of love because they were too distracted by filling up the physical needs (eating chicken), and that at the end the worm that comes out of the food says "father" and is then killed, suggesting a reference towards abortions and that the butterfly in the beginning of the episode was a child that was killed of with an abortion. The video could also be a reference to religion. The bee, whom the yellow guy met, talked about love through his own perception and took him into a cloud-like land that could signify "heaven". The Tree, which then told the story of a boy named Michael, who lived underground because he was ugly, as people made fun of him. This could be a reference to how religion discriminate those who are not like them. The Bee and his friends introduced the Yellow guy to their "king of love", that could be a reference to "God". In order to join their religion, they told the yellow guy to wash his brain (Which references that religion brainwashes people into believing what they believe), change his name (which references the fact that religion provides a limited set of names for newborn for those who join), etc. Don't Hug Me I'm Scared 4 Don't Hug Me I'm Scared 4 deals with technology, specifically its role in our current society. Now instead of using globes or books to find information, most facts can be found using computers. In other words, computers can count to 50 in the blink of an eye. Lots of different companies and websites today either ask for lots of personal information, or track it without your consent. This is an issue brought up in the video, as before the computer helps them, he says he must know all about them. When Red Guy (Harry) resists the computer's flurry of personal questions, the computer freaks out. Internet anonymity is another issue it deals with (the whole section about real vs. not real you). The video also makes a statement about the changing usage of the internet. At the start of the video the computer is mainly regarded as something to gain information from. The computer speaks up when the three puppets inquire about "learning more", it calls itself a "clever-y guy", and Yellow Guy remarks that he wishes he was "as smart as a computer." But once the puppets get sucked into the "digital world" the computer tells them there are only "three things to do", all of which appear to be pretty pointless. This makes the point that--where the use of computers and the internet in the past was more strictly for information, and heavy usage was more often by people regarded as intellectuals or by nerd culture--the internet is now accessed by more and more users from the general public, who use it predominantly for socializing (2 of the 3 things to do). The line "there's only three things to do" could be meant to show how more and more control over the internet by large corporations and government seems to funnel all users into these same areas of it. Red Guy, from the beginning, seems to be the only one wary of the computer's attempts to collect more information from him, and once in the "digital world," he seems to be the only one skeptical of the return on his information investment, looking for a way out. The characters are portrayed as digital avatars, suggesting that they are in effect interacting with virtual reality formed by the things that can be found on the internet and how the internet affects the perception of the self. What are the "Three Things To Do?" # Graphs and Charts: This could represent the many alleged "statistics" and "facts" that are passed around the Internet and through social multimedia. Many of which are misquoted, misapplied, or statistically flawed. Despite all the information available, it takes human reasoning to use it correctly # Digital Style: More than just the fashion represented in the video, this probably refers to trending subjects and people. Whether it be from news outlets or social media. # Digital Dancing: This most likely signifies entertainment, as well as the greater part of social media. As the "digital dancing" room fills up with more and more people, the computer makes it abundantly clear that "this is fun," or at least it's supposed to be. Important Things in a Variety of Videos Date This episode takes place on June 19 like the others, but in this video we find out that the year is 1955. We know this because on Becky and Joe's Kickstarter account, there is a photo that confirms the date is June 19, 1955. Also, in the video itself, the calendar has this same date. After some investigation, it was discovered what happened in real-life on June 19, 1955. There was a bombardment in Bueno Aires, Argentina (which resulted in many church bombings), and that date is considered as one of the worst dates in Argentia's history. It is unknown as of now why Becky and Joe chose this day as the date for the series. Also, 1906 repeats as a ransom, year, and time. This is referenced in the fourth episode, in the Computer's time and on the date of the Newspaper. Random objects *The same calendar appears in the the first, second, and fourth videos. *The phrase "let's get creative" appears in both the first and fourth videos, spelled with the same magnetic letters. *The statue of King Malcolm (the leader of the Love Cult from the third episode) makes a cameo appearance in the fourth episode. *The notepad and clock make a cameo in the Love Cult from the third episode *The yellow cube with eyes appears as a cameo appearance in both the second and fourth episodes. *A specific red radio appears in the first two episodes. *A tiny, colorful hat appears randomly in the first three episodes. *A menu or recipe of a classic breakfast (consisting of bacon and eggs) appears in both the first and fourth episodes. *A red and yellow-colored boat appears in both the first and fourth episode. In the first episode, it appears in a painting. In the fourth episode, it appears to be a toy of sorts. *The same type of cups and plates appear in the first three episodes. *A mysterious orifice, which appears to represent a Mouse House or just a mouse in general, appears in the first two episodes. *The Green Duck has a red towel in both the second and third episodes. *A plastic figurine of a horse appears in all of the episodes. In the music video made by Becky and Joe, "Swim and Sleep Like a Shark," this horse appears and is presumably alive. *There is a painting of horses that appears in all four videos. It appears to be a reference to the music video of "Swim and Sleep Like a Shark," because in that video a boy appears to be painting the same painting. *A basket of fruit appears in the first, second, and fourth episodes. *A little orange house appears in both the second and fourth episodes. *There are some clouds with eyes that makes a reference to the episode 3. *The Yellow Guy's clown painting from the first episode reappears twice in the fourth episode. *A sandwich that appears in the fourth episode previously made an appearance in Becky and Joe's music video for "Bad Things That Could Happen." *The image depicting the three main characters missing appears in the third and fourth episodes. In the third episode, it appears stapled to a tree in the woods. In the fourth episode, it can be seen printed in the carton of milk. "Things That Are Not Perceptible At the First Look Or Easter Eggs". There are things in the episode that may not be very perceptible at first. *The Yellow Guy's father, Roy, can be seen in both the third and fourth episodes. *The Green Guy and Yellow Guy both make monsters in the fourth episode. *The Green Guy make an extrain and random sexy dance(? . *The Yellow Guy have big eyes in one part. *In two parts of the video the Green Guy has a crazy and creepy faces. *In one part when the Red Guy see the computer dance, in the bottom we can see a cameo Red Guy enter to another room (I think that makes a reference to the end). By: The Random Queen Category:Cartoons Category:Films Category:Internet